This Month in Social Media: Updates from November 2016

There were updates, enhancements, and announcements across various social networks.

Here is a roundup of the latest news in social media:

Facebook

The latest interface for the tech world, chatbots, arrived on Facebook Messenger this year. But Facebook is not alone in the chatbot game. Facebook Messenger is the most attractive platform on which to run bots for marketers. Facebook bots make it possible for marketers to be more personal, more proactive, and more streamlined in the way you interact with your customers.

This year’s election created a “digital gold rush” in fake news. In August, New York Times Magazine published an article detailing how “fakebait” sites were bringing in tens of thousands of dollars in ad revenue through Facebook. Facebook since updated its advertising guidelines to exclude these types of fake news sites from generating revenue from the Facebook Audience Network.

Facebook had another good quarter, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, raking in $7 billion in revenue and continuing to attract new users to the platform. The social network has released its full financial results for Q3 2016.

Instagram

Instagram rolled out a pair of new shopping features to make it easier for its 500 million users to shop without leaving the app. A “Tap to View Products” icon will appear in the bottom left of posts. Tapping on that icon will reveal the names of, and prices for, up to five products tagged in the post.

Instagram Stories added three new features. Instagram now lets users create Stories using a “Boomerang” mode; you can now mention up to 10 users in your Instagram Stories and Instagram is also testing a feature that allows you to add links within your stories.

Pinterest

Pinterest is testing a new type of Promoted Video that begins playing as soon as Pinterest users discover it. The company has also unveiled “tried it” pins. Pinterest is also creating a new home for autoplay promoted videos. Called Pinterest Explore, this section essentially will feature what’s trending on Pinterest every day.

Snapchat

In Snapchat’s latest update for iOS and Android, users were given several new updates, including options to rewind and forward snaps, as well as this World Lenses feature. Make sleepy clouds vomit rainbows, propel hearts at those around you, or watch butterflies fly around your living room – These are just a few of the new augmented reality options Snapchat unveiled.

Twitter

Despite being rattled by uncertainty and turmoil of late, Twitter continues doing its best to position itself as the customer service platform of choice for brands. And it’s looking to chatbots to help solve customers’ problems more quickly.

Following the lead of Instagram and YouTube, Twitter has unveiled new ways to filter offensive and harassing tweets from your timeline. Twitter announced that it is updating its mute feature to hide notifications that users don’t want to see.Learn More: Twitter Lets Users Block Keywords, Hashtags, Conversations

Twitter Moments is a feature that collects trending tweets, trends and news stories and collages them into a narrative. The feature is available to all users to create their own Twitter moments from their own tweets and from other twitter accounts tweeting about the same theme.

SEJ writer Shayla Price composed a list of 100 women marketers to follow on Twitter. From agency owners to skilled subject-matter experts, women are paving the way to make a difference in business and their communities.

Yelp

Although Yelp isn’t a social media channel per se, this seemed worth noting. Yelp launched three new features that lets users check-in with a photo, changes the way business images are displayed, and lets users share bookmark collections.